Use of ionomers for sealing insulating materials

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to the use of ionomers in order to seal insulating material.

[0001] The present invention relates to the use of ionomers in order to seal insulating materials. In particular, it relates to the use of layered materials for the above-mentioned purpose, said materials containing at least one layer of ionomers, and it also relates to such layered materials themselves. The invention especially relates to flat impregnated materials containing ionomers as the impregnating resin.

[0002] The use of insulating materials such as, for example, plastic foams and glass wool for the comprehensive thermal insulation of buildings is generally known in numerous configurations. In one of the configurations most frequently employed, panels of the insulating material having a thickness of about 4 cm to 40 cm are attached in or on wall constructions or else under the roof between, underneath or on the rafters.

[0003] However, the insulating materials only exercise their full effect if they prevent air exchange through them since otherwise, considerable amounts of heat would be lost with the air that diffuses from the heated interior to the outside. This situation would be reversed in the summer, when the warm air penetrates inside, heating up the building in an unwanted manner, with the result that an air conditioning system that might be present would consume considerably more energy.

[0004] Consequently, at first it seemed to be an obvious approach to seal the thermal insulating materials with a material that is impermeable to air, for example, a sturdy polyethylene or PVC film, but this did not bring about the desired result because it is practically impossible to avoid the occurrence of damage such as cracks or holes, so that air nevertheless manages to get into the insulating material. When the air cools down, the entrained moisture condenses out, so that over the course of time, there are considerable water accumulations which can practically no longer be eliminated by drying. In the meantime, the water not only causes corrosive damage but it also reduces the effect of the thermal insulation.

[0005] As is likewise common knowledge, preference is thus given to those sealing materials that counteract but do not entirely prevent diffusion of the air and of the water vapor contained in it, so as to allow a reverse diffusion of the water vapor, in other words, drying of the insulating material.

[0006] Such materials, which are referred to as vapor barriers and which are normally employed in the form of films or layered materials, are polymers such as polyethylene, polyamides, ethylene acrylic acid copolymers and polyesters in a thin layer. More information on this can be found, for example, in the patent specifications DE-A 195 14 420 and 199 02 102.

[0007] The vapor barriers made of these materials, in the form of a film or of a suitable layered material, usually entail the advantage that their resistance against the diffusion of the water vapor is dependent on the relative humidity. If the relative humidity is low, this resistance is higher than when the relative humidity is high. This facilitates the drying of the damp insulating material in the summer air, which is usually humid. For instance, the water vapor diffusion resistance value (S_(d) value) according to German standard DIN 52615 of a 60-μm thick polyamide film amounts to 4.5 m at 30% relative humidity and only approximately 0.5 m at 80% relative humidity.

[0008] The S_(d) value corresponds to the thickness of a stationary air layer whose diffusion resistance is as high as that of the specimen, that is to say, the thin polyamide-6 film in this example. This value is ascertained according to German standard DIN 52615, usually employing the dry cup method (dry area procedure), between the two humidity values of 0% and 50%, averaging 25%, and employing the wet cup method (damp area procedure), between the two humidity values of 50% and 95%, averaging 72.5%.

[0009] However, it is not only the above-mentioned requirements in terms of diffusion properties that are made of the material used for the vapor barriers, but rather, a number of other conditions as well. Thus, the material should be thermally, chemically and mechanically stable as well as easy to process. Moreover, the material should be physiologically safe, it should become only slightly or not at all statically charged, and it should also be compatible with other materials, especially with those of which the layers are made, so that decomposition of the layered materials cannot occur. The material should be environmentally safe and, in case of fire, it should not release any highly toxic gases of the type that can be formed, for example, by halogen compounds from flame retardants in the form of dioxins and furans or by polyamide in the form of ammonia and polyethane hydrogen cyanide. Last but not least, it should also meet the requirements of cost-effectiveness.

[0010] Before the background of this objective, it was found that ionomers are very well-suited in order to seal insulating materials, in addition to which new layered materials were found which contain this material as the essential component in at least one layer. Moreover, particularly practical embodiments of the invention were found, which are described below.

[0011] By definition (see, for example, Römpps Chemielexikon [Römpp's Chemical Dictionary], published by George Thieme Verlag, 9^(th) edition, 1990), ionomers are statistical thermoplastic copolymers consisting of

[0012] a) a mono-olefin,

[0013] b) a mono-olefinically unsaturated acid,

[0014] c) if desired, additional comonomers for purposes of modifying the chemical and physical properties of these copolymers, whereby

[0015] d) the acid groups of these copolymers are partially or totally neutralized with inorganic cations.

[0016] Many of these ionomers as well as the methods for their production are known from the technical literature and a number of them are commercially available under the designation Surlyn®, manufactured by the DuPont company, which recommends their use for packaging applications and coating purposes. Additional information can be found, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,272 as well as in the company brochure on Surlyn® dated January 2001.

[0017] Examples of comonomers (a) are especially ethylene and also propylene and 1-butene as well as mixtures of these compounds. Their proportion in the ionomer normally amounts to 50 mol-% to 99 mol-%, preferably 80 mol-% to 90 mol-%.

[0018] Suitable comonomers (b) are especially methacrylic acid and also acrylic acid, maleic acid, maleic acid anhydride and vinyl sulfonic acid in proportions of 1 mol-% to 50 mol-%, preferably 10 mol-% to 20 mol-%.

[0019] Examples of additional comonomers (c) are mono-olefinically unsaturated compounds such as acrylic acid and methacrylic acid C₁-C₄ alkyl esters as well as styrene, vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile in proportions of up to 10 mol-%. For the mechanical and chemical properties of the films, it can also be advantageous to add small amounts of bifunctional monomers, such as butadiene, provided that the material remains thermoplastic.

[0020] Preferred inorganic cations (d) are especially those of the alkali metals, such as particularly lithium, sodium and potassium as well as the earth-alkali metals like calcium and magnesium. Zinc cations are also suitable. The degree of neutralization of the acid groups normally ranges from 0.5% to 100%, preferably from 10% to 70%. This corresponds to a metal content of the ionomer within the range of about 0.1% to 10% by weight, preferably 1% to 5% by weight.

[0021] For the purposes of the present invention, ionomers consisting of the following are especially recommended

[0022] a₁) 50 mol-% to 99 mol-% ethylene and

[0023] b₁) 1 mol-% to 50 mol-% methacrylic acid, whereby

[0024] d₁) the acid groups of these copolymers are 0.5% to 100%-neutralized, preferably 10% to 70%-neutralized, with lithium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and/or zinc cations.

[0025] These ionomers have outstanding application and processing properties, in addition to which, as was ascertained according to the invention, they fulfill the requirements made of an effective vapor-barrier material. This is particularly true of the Surlyn grades having sodium as cations, like type 1605 as well as of the types of the 8000 series, for instance, 8120, 8140 and 8220. Films made of these materials and having a thickness of 15 μm display an S_(d) value between 3 m and 10 m at 25% relative humidity and an S_(d) value between 0.5 m and 4 m at 72.5% relative humidity, whereby the differences Δs_(d) 25/72.5 that are characteristic of the diffusion behavior lie within the range of 2 m to 8 m.

[0026] Generally speaking, the Δs_(d) 25/72.5 value increases as the polarity of the material rises. Consequently, ionomers with potassium as component (d) have especially high differential values, so that seals according to the invention made of this material meet even extreme requirements, for instance, in the case of buildings in mountainous climates with their often pronounced temperature differences and also in tropical and subtropical climates, as well as in flat roof and grass roof constructions.

[0027] However, it is not only the Δs_(d) value that is an important criterion for the performance of a moisture-variable vapor barrier, but rather, also the ratio f of the higher resistance value S_(dh) to the lower resistance value S_(dl). After all, it is necessary to take into account not only the moisture variability of the vapor barrier itself, but also its output, that is to say, the diffusion of a vapor volume m per unit of time. The following inversely proportional relationship applies for the ratio of the diffusing vapor volume m_(h) and m_(l) at a high or low diffusion resistance S_(dh) and S_(dl), respectively:

f=S _(dh) /S _(dl)=^(m/l)/_(m/h)

[0028] which indicates that the larger the diffusion resistance, the smaller the volume of vapor passing per unit of time and vice versa.

[0029] Regarding the output, the S_(dl) at 25% relative humidity should be within the range from 1 m to 20 m, preferably from 1 m to 4 m, and the s_(dl) within the range from 0.02 m to 4 m, preferably from 0.02 m to 2 m, but, due to the moisture variability, they should nevertheless differ from each other markedly by a factor f that preferably is >2, especially >5.

[0030] This requirement is fulfilled particularly well by the potassium ionomers.

[0031] Vapor barriers having such characteristics not only function in a moisture-variable manner, but they also account for faster drying processes.

[0032] Thus, it is achieved that, in a winter climate, when the vapor barrier according to the invention lies, for example, within the range from 25% to 50% relative humidity, only a moisture flow of approximately 1 to 10 g/m² can penetrate the insulation every 24 hours, in contrast to which in a summer climate, when the vapor barrier according to the invention lies within the range from 60% up to 100% relative humidity, up to over 300 g/m² of moisture can dry out of the construction every 24 hours.

[0033] Vapor barriers having the described properties as well as a low diffusion resistance of, for instance, 1.5 m to 2.5 m at 25% relative humidity in the ambient air are particularly well-suited for roof constructions, while vapor barriers having a higher diffusion resistance are especially suitable for wall constructions.

[0034] Naturally, mixture of different ionomers, especially of potassium ionomers with sodium ionomers are likewise suitable, whereby the proportion of potassium ionomers is preferably 5% to 95% by weight, especially 50% to 80% by weight. The latter mixtures not only display excellent vapor barrier properties but they also are easy to process into layered materials and impregnated materials.

[0035] As explained above, through the use of comonomers (c), the chemical and physical properties of the ionomers to be used according to the invention can be adapted in a known manner to special requirements, for example, in terms of compatibility with the framework and support materials, in terms of the establishment of certain S_(d) values or else in terms of flexibility, stiffness or tear resistance.

[0036] Such special applications-technological properties can be achieved not only by admixing the ionomers with each other, but of course also by admixing the ionomers with other polymers such as, for instance, polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes and polyolefins. Particularly well-suited mixtures are those with copolymers consisting of ethylene and vinyl acetate as well as with copolymers made up of ethylene and butyl acrylate or ethylene and acrylic acid or ethylene and methacrylic acid or ethylene acrylic acid copolymer, or else ethylene and methyl acrylate, each with sodium ionomers and especially with potassium ionomers. In the polymer mixtures, the proportion of the ionomers preferably amounts to 30% to 95% by weight, especially 50% to 80% by weight.

[0037] Therefore, in the present case, mixtures of ionomers with each other as well as with thermoplastics serve as the ionomers, and of course also mixtures containing more than one ionomer and more than one of the other polymers.

[0038] The ionomers to be used according to the invention can be applied onto the thermal insulating materials in the form of aqueous dispersions or melts, for example, by brushing or spraying several times, until the layers thus formed have reached an adequate thickness of 5 μm to 100 μm, preferably 10 μm to 30 μm. However, this method will only be employed if the surface of the insulating material component is markedly curved or uneven and if the laying of the films is difficult or not desired, for esthetic reasons, for example, in interiors.

[0039] When it comes to flat or cylindrical surfaces, ionomer films can be used that normally have to be attached to the insulating material by means of an adhesive since the very thin films—as a rule, they have a thickness of 5 μm to 100 μm, preferably 10 μm to 30 μm—alone are usually not sufficiently tear resistant to be laid on their own.

[0040] Consequently, in the normal case, ionomers are employed in the form of self-supporting layered materials in which one of the layers is an ionomer film or ionomer layer having the indicated thickness. In order to protect this layer—which is the most important one for the purpose according to the invention—against damage of the kind that can hardly be completely prevented during production and laying, they are advantageously sandwiched between the other layers of the layered material.

[0041] These other layers, which are recommended mainly for mechanical reasons and thus also because of better handling properties, can in principle consist of any material that, in layered form, does not have a higher S_(d) value than the ionomer layer.

[0042] Such layers are primarily skeleton layers such as nonwovens, woven fabrics or meshes made of inert substances such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, glass fibers or viscose. Perforated films made of polyethylene, polypropylene and polyester are also possibilities. A high level of dimensional stability in the longitudinal and crosswise directions of the layered material can be achieved with layers made of paper.

[0043] It is also possible to provide these layered materials with auxiliaries, for instance, flame retardants, with which the paper sheets, for example, can be impregnated.

[0044] Aside from the ionomer layers according to the invention, such layered materials as well as their production, for example, through gluing or by means of the coating or extrusion methods, are generally known in numerous versions, so that there is no need here for any additional information on this, particularly since ionomers do not entail any special processing problems.

[0045] Layered materials having the structure presented below, each listed in the order starting with the upper layer, then the middle layer(s) and then the bottom layer, have proven their worth:

[0046] 1) paper, 80 μm to 120 μm ionomer, 10 μm to 20 μm paper, 80 μm to 120 μm

[0047] 2) polyethylene spunbonded nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm ionomer, 10 μm to 20 μm polyethylene spunbonded nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm

[0048] 3) viscose nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm ionomer, 10 μm to 20 μm viscose nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm

[0049] 4) polyester spunbonded nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm ionomer, 10 μm to 20 μm polyester spunbonded nonwoven, 20 μm to 60 μm

[0050] 5) The above-mentioned layered materials 1) to 4) which, for purposes of enhancing the strength, contain a nonwoven or woven fabric made of polyester, glass fibers or polyethylene as an additional middle layer.

[0051] Likewise especially suited for the purpose according to the invention are flat impregnated materials in which a nonwoven or woven fabric forms the skeleton layer and in which the skeleton layer is impregnated with ionomers as the impregnating resin. Examples of skeleton materials are polyethylene spunbonded nonwovens, polyamide spunbonded nonwovens and materials containing cellulose, especially absorbent paper. These impregnated materials not only exhibit the good properties of the corresponding layer materials, but they can also be produced particularly cost-effectively. All that is needed for this purpose is to impregnate the nonwoven or woven fabric with a melt of the ionomer and to subsequently allow the ionomer to solidify through cooling.

[0052] As is done with conventional layered materials used to seal insulation panels that are also suitable for acoustic insulation, the layered materials or impregnated materials according to the invention can be supplied in the form of sheet rolls. Thermal insulating walls onto which the sheets have been glued and panels that are installed horizontally or obliquely under the roof can have the layered material or impregnated material laid under them so as to be self-supporting with a few intermediate attachments, whereby an air gap between the insulating material and the vapor barrier normally does not impair the effectiveness, provided that it is well sealed at the sides. Sealing of the insulating material on both sides is possible but usually this is not necessary.

EXAMPLES

[0053] Using a few ethylene/methacrylic acid ionomers of the Surlyn type manufactured by the DuPont company in accordance with the information material dated January 2001, the S_(d) values of test films were ascertained as preliminary values according to German standard DIN 52615 employing the dry cup and wet cup methods for a thickness of 15 μm. The ionomers contained sodium cations or potassium cations as the cations. The metal ion content was determined according to German standard DIN 38406-E14.

[0054] The results are compiled in the table below: s_(d) value [m] at a rela- tive humidity of dcry cup wet cup Δs_(d) Ionomer 25% 72.5% 25/7.25 (m) f³⁾ Surlyn ® 8150¹⁾ 5.5 1.4 4.1 3.9 Na type, 2.2% by weight Na Surlyn ® 8220¹⁾ 5.0 1.5 3.5 3.6 Na type, 1.9% by weight Na Surlyn ® 8945¹⁾ 7.5 3.1 4.4 2.4 Na type, 1.8% by weight Na Himilan ® MK154²⁾ 1.4 0.09 1.3 16 K type, 4.2% by weight K

[0055] These values directly demonstrate the excellent suitability of the ionomers as a material for vapor barriers. 

1. The use of ionomers in order to seal insulating materials.
 2. The use according to claim 1, wherein the ionomers are copolymers consisting of 50 mol-% to 99 mol-% ethylene and 1 mol-% to 50 mol-% methacrylic acid, whose acid groups have been 0.5% to 100%-neutralized, preferably 10% to 70%-neutralized, with inorganic cations.
 3. The use according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inorganic cations are lithium, sodium, magnesium or zinc cations.
 4. The use according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inorganic cations are potassium cations.
 5. The use of the ionomers according to claims 1 to 4, wherein the ionomer in layered form exhibits the following water vapor diffusion resistances S_(d): at 25% relative humidity, an S_(d) value of 1 m to 20 m, or of4 m to 20 m or 1 m to 4 m and, at 72.5% relative humidity, an S_(d) value of 0.02 m to 0.7 m.
 6. The use of the ionomers according to claims 1 to 4, wherein the ionomer in layered form exhibits the following water vapor diffusion resistances S_(d): at 25% relative humidity, an S_(d) value of 1 m to 2 m, and at 72.5% relative humidity, an S_(d) value of 0.02 m to 0.7 m, whereby both values differ by a factor f>2.
 7. The use of ionomers according to claims 1 to 5 in the form of layered materials having at least one layer of these ionomers.
 8. The use of the ionomers according to claims 1 to 6 at a layer thickness ranging from 5 μm to 100 μm.
 9. Layered materials having at least one layer of an ionomer according to claims 1 to
 7. 10. Layered materials according to claim 8, in which the middle layer consists of the ionomer, one of the outer layers has a supporting function and the other has a protective or likewise supporting function for the middle layer.
 11. Layered materials according to claim 9, wherein both outer layers are made of paper, polyethylene spunbonded nonwoven, polypropylene spunbonded nonwoven, polyester spunbonded nonwoven or viscose nonwoven.
 12. Layered materials according to claim 9 or 10 having an additional middle layer consisting of a nonwoven, a woven fabric or a mesh made of polyester, glass fibers, polyethylene or polypropylene.
 13. The use of the ionomers according to claims 1 to 4 in the form of an impregnated material consisting of a skeleton substance and of the ionomer, whereby the skeleton substance is a nonwoven or a woven fabric made of polyethylene spun fibers, polypropylene spun fibers, polyester spun fibers, cellulose fibers, polyamide or paper.
 14. Flat impregnated materials according to claim
 12. 15. Flat impregnated materials according to claim 13 wherein the amount of ionomer ranges from 2 to 100 g/m². 